Boards for sliding on snow

ABSTRACT

A board for sliding on snow is provided and has nose, intermediate and tail portions. The nose and tail portions have a thickness that will not deform under the weight of a user. The intermediate portion has a thickness that it will elastically bend under the weight of a user. The board is shaped into an inverted arch and has a side plate mounted on each of the side edges to extend longitudinally thereof. Step-decks for the user&#39;s stance are located on the respective connections between the nose and intermediate portions and between the intermediate and tail portions with the step-decks being inclined downwardly toward the intermediate portion. The tail portion has at least one pin tail configuration and includes a fin-box embedded at the bottom of said pin tail. The fin-box includes a fin which is detachably mounted therewithin such that the fin will be released when a force is applied thereto that is stronger than a predetermined level. Releasable binding members are provided at each step deck to retain the user&#39;s feet on the board.

FIELD OF THE ART

This invention relates to a board which freely slides on the snow. Moreparticularly, this invention concerns an athletic apparatus consistingof a board which comprises a body having two step-decks spaced away fromeach other lengthwise, the board being used by a player such that hewill slide on the snow while balancing his legs on the step-decks.

In order to efficiently slide on the surface of the snow, it is requiredthat the player's weight be uniformly distributed over the surface ofthe resilient board which is contacted by the snow. For the same reason,a ski includes nose-bends and tail-bends which will contact a flat floorwhen the ski is placed thereon, the intermediate ski portion between thenose-bend and tail-bend being curved upwardly from the floor to form anarched bend. The nose-bends and tail-bends of the ski are smaller inthickness than the intermediate arched portion. When the weight of askier is placed on the intermediate portion of the ski, the thin wallsof the ski are bent to contact the whole bottom with the surface of thesnow so that the skier's weight is uniformly distributed over the entireski.

It is an object of this invention to provide a board for sliding on thesnow which is used such that a player balances his legs on the board attwo positions spaced away from each other lengthwise, said boardincluding forward and rearward portions and an intermediate resilientportion which is smaller in thickness than the forward and rearwardportions to form an inverted arch bend so that when the player's weightis exerted on the forward and rearward portions of the board it isuniformly distributed over the whole bottom of the board contacted bythe snow, thereby obtaining efficient sliding effect on the snow.

Another object of this invention is to provide a board of the above typewhich includes nose and tail portions having step-decks, each of thestep-decks being inclined downwardly toward said intermediate portion sothat the bending of the intermediate portion will accommodate itself tothe curvature of the surface of the snow and also so that the player caneasily balance himself on the board.

Another object is to provide a board of the above type which includes adouble tail (so-called "swallow's tail") with fins mounted on therespective tails so that the board will be slid from its balance.

Another object is to provide a board of the above type in which saidfins are detachably mounted on the tails of the board.

Another object is to provide a board of the above type which includesside plates provided along the side edges thereof to improve mobility ofthe board on sliding.

Another object is to provide a board of the above type which includesbindings on the step-decks to anchor the player's feet to the board.

Still another object is to provide a board of the above type whichincludes spring means located within the board to increase theresiliency in the intermediate portion of the board, to decrease theweight of the board, and to prevent the board from losing its efficiencydue to aging.

The above objects, features, and advantages will become more apparentfrom the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a basic structure of a board for slidingon snow which is constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the board shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the board shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along a line IV--IV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along a line V--V of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a metal fitting for reinforcing theside plate of the board;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a board constructed according to thisinvention, in which spring means are located within the board toincrease the resiliency in the intermediate portion of the board;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged, sectional view taken along a line VIII--VIII ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a board constructed according to this inventionwhich includes a pair of bindings located thereon;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing, in an enlarged scale, one of thebindings shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged, sectional view taken along a line XI--XI of FIG.9;

FIG. 12 is a bottom view of a board which is a further embodiment ofthis invention, including another fin arrangement; and

FIG. 13 is an enlarged, sectional view taken along a line XIII--XIII ofFIG. 12.

FIG. 1 shows the basic structure of a board for sliding on snow,constructed in accordance with this invention. Such a basic structurecomprises a board body (10) made of wood FRP (fiber reinforced plastic)or the like which generally includes a nose portion (11), anintermediate portion (12) and a tail portion (13). The overall length ofthe board body (10) is about 150 cm, but is not limited to such alength. The length of the board is determined by the height and weightof the user or by the required speed of sliding. The nose and tailportions (11), (13) are of such a thickness that they will not be easilydeformed as the user's weight is exerted on the board, for example,about 4 cm thick. On the other hand, the intermediate portion (12) is ofa thickness sufficiently smaller than that of the nose or tail portionto bend easily, for example, about 0.6 cm to 1.5 cm. The connectionbetween the intermediate and nose portions (12), (11) includes astep-deck (14) formed to incline upwardly toward the nose portion (11),and the connection between the intermediate and tail portions (12), (13)also includes a step-deck (15) formed to incline upwardly toward thetail portion 13.

The board body (10) includes a flat bottom (16) adapted to contact thesurface of snow, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, and is of an inverted archshape as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 contrary to conventional skis. Namely,it is curved toward the surface of snow downwardly, as shown in FIG. 4.

When the weight of a user is placed on the board body (10) bypositioning his left and right feet (17) on the respective step-decks(14) and (15) as shown by chain lines in FIG. 1, the resilient, thinintermediate portion (12) is bent into a flat plate with the bottomcontacted uniformly by the surface of snow so that the user's weightwill be equally distributed over the board body (10). Such an adjustmentalso permits the board to efficiently slide on the snow just likeconventional skis.

When the board is slid on the snow by the user, the curvature thereof isvaried in accordance with the irregularity of the snow surface. At thistime, the user's legs should be placed on the inclined step-decks (14)and (15) so that the board can be controlled to follow the irregularityof the snow. Further, the speed of the sliding board changes inaccordance with the irregularity of the snow surface, the properties ofthe snow or the like. When the speed of the sliding board decreasesabruptly, the user can support himself by placing his foot on theforward step-deck (14) countering the inertia force. When the speedincreases suddenly, the user can similarly support himself by placinghis foot on the rearward step-deck (15) against the intertia force. Thiscan be easily accomplished by the user due to the fact that the boardbody (10) includes both forward and rearward inclined step-decks (14)and (15) as shown in FIG. 4.

The nose portion (11) of the board body (10) includes a pointed tipcurved upwardly as in conventional skis. The tail portion (13) includestwo pin-tails (13a) and (13b) as seen from FIGS. 1 and 3, and isgenerally called a "swallow's tail." Each of the pin-tails (13a) and(13b) in a cross-sectional view form an inverted triangle, the bottomedge of which (18a) or (18b) includes a fin (19a) or (19b). Thus, thenose portion (11) of the board can be easily moved upwardly when theuser's weight is shifted to the tail portion (13). At the same time, thepin-tails (13a) and (13b) are pressed against the surface of the snow sothat the yawing of the sliding board can be decreased stabilizing theboard on the snow. Moreover, the fins (19a) and (19b) serve as asteering means since they penetrate into the snow.

The board body (10) also includes, as shown in FIG. 1, side plates (20)and (21) mounted on the side edges of the board body (10) and extendinglongitudinally along the nose portion (11), the intermediate portion(12) and a part of the tail portion (13). Each of the side plates (20)and (21) has a height of about 4 cm as measured at the intermediateportion (12) and is outwardly inclined with respect to the upper face ofthe intermediate portion (12) at an angle of about 120 degrees, as seenfrom FIG. 5. If the user's weight is laterally shifted by placing one ofhis feet on either the right or left side plate, the board body (10) canbe heeled while sliding. In an extreme case, the board can be slid ononly one of the side plates (20) and (21). This allows the user to turnthe board to the desired direction.

Each of the side plates (20) and (21) includes a slit (22) or (23)located at the middle of the intermediate portion (12) and slantingacross the width of the corresponding side plate to the top edgethereof, as best seen from FIG. 4. Each of the side plates also includesa longitudinal slit (24) or (25) extending from the bottom end of theslit (22) or (23) toward the nose and tail portion (11) and (13) alongthe side edge of the intermediate portion (12). These slits (22)-(25)permit the board body (10) to bend elastically at the intermediateportion (12) thereof.

As shown in FIG. 6, metal reinforcing fittings (26) are mounted on theinside of the side plates (20) and (21) at the slits (22) and (23) andaffixed to the board body (10) by any suitable fastening means. This isfor the purpose of reinforcing the weakened structure of the board inthe presence of the slits (22)-(25), preventing the side plates fromjamming at the slits, and avoiding any undesirable bending of the boardbody (10). Each of the fittings (26) includes: a mount portion (26a) forsecuring the fittings to the intermediate portion (12) of the board, areinforcing portion (26b) contacting the inner face of the side plate(20) or (21), and a channel portion (26c) engaged at the upper edge ofthe side plate.

In conventional skis and surf-boards, decreasing the weight increasesthe operability thereof so long as the strength will hold. This isbecause a lighter ski or surf-board can be more easily handled by aplayer. It is now known in the art that the lightest surf-board has aweight of about 3 kg, and the lightest surf-board can float on water.For the same reason, it is desirable that this invention also provideslighter boards for sliding on snow. When the intermediate portion (12)of the board is thin-walled so far as the strength thereof permits, theresiliency is decreased adversely affecting the sliding performance.FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate another embodiment of this invention whichovercomes the above problem.

In FIGS. 7 and 8, board body (10) is substantially of the sameconfiguration as that of the previous embodiment as shown in FIGS. 1 to6 except that the intermediate portion (12) of the board is made as thinas possible thus decreasing the weight of the board. Therefore, theparts are indicated by using reference numerals similar to those ofFIGS. 1 to 6. Only the structural parts which are different from thosein the previous embodiment will be described.

The board body (10) includes a nose portion (11) in which a cavity (30)is positioned immediately below the forward step-deck (14). The tailportion (13) also includes a cavity (31) positioned immediately belowthe rearward step-deck (15). The intermediate portion (12) includes apair of parallel passages (32) and (33) which connect said cavities (30)and (31). The cavity (30) includes two small pulleys (34) and (35)disposed at the ends of respective passages (32) and (33), while thecavity (31) includes two hooks (36) and (37) disposed similarly therein.Wire (38) or (39) is connected at one end to the respective hook (36) or(37) in one of the cavities and extends through the respective passage(32) or (33) to the other cavity (30) in which the wire (38) or (39)passes around the respective pulley (34) or (35) and then through thepassage (32) or (33) to the cavity (31). The opposite end of the wire(38) or (39) is connected by means of coil spring (40) or (41) to theinside of cavity (31). In such an arrangement, the wires (38) and (39)are held in tension by the coil springs (40) and (41) so that theintermediate portion (12) of the board tends to be bent upwardly, thatis, in the direction of the inverted arch bend. The coil springs (40)and (41) will resist the bending of the board in a direction opposite tothe inverted arch bend. Thus, the resiliency in the intermediate portion(12) can be increased by the action of the coil springs (40) and (41).Moreover, the resiliency can be covered by the coil springs (40) and(41) even it is decreased due to the effect of aging.

While a means to increase resiliency comprising the pair of springs andthe pair of wires has been described in connection with FIGS. 7 and 8,it is to be understood that one or more sets of such combinations can beutilized in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 9 shows still another embodiment of this invention in which twobindings (50) and (51) are mounted on the forward and rearwardstep-decks (14) and (15) of the board body (10). Each of the bindings(50) and (51) is disposed at an angle of about 40 degrees relative to alongitudinal center line (59) of the board body (10). The binding (50)or (51) comprises, as best seen from FIG. 10, a shoe-holding plate (53)including a slant portion (52) formed at the forward edge thereof forfacilitating insertion of the shoe and slots (54) and (55) formed in theshoe-holding plate (53) at the opposite ends thereof. Inserted intoslots (54) and (55) is a rubber tape (57) covered by a sleeve-like cloth(56), the opposite ends of which are anchored on the board body (10) byany suitable fastening means such as bolts (58) or the like. In thisway, the bindings (50) and (51) can be mounted on the board body (10).As seen from FIG. 11, the shoe-holding plate (53) is positioned abovethe surface of the board body (10) by a distance of about 3 cm. Thus,the shoe can be easily moved in and out of the space between theshoe-holding plate and the surface of the board. Since the bindings arepositioned slantwise with respect to the longitudinal center line (59),the user's feet or shoes can be shifted relatively freely in alldirections so that the user's body will be conveniently balanced on theboard surface while sliding. It is further preferred that thesleeve-like cloth (56) is about 3 cm longer than the rubber tape (57).Therefore, the rubber tape (57) can be prevented from extending beyondthe length of the sleeve-like cloth (56) so that the user's shoes willnot slip out of the bindings upon jumping. It is also to be understoodthat when the right foot of the user is positioned on the forwardstep-deck (14) and the left foot is on the rearward step-deck (15), thebindings (50) and (51) will be oriented in a position shifted angularlythrough 90 degrees from a position shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 shows a further embodiment of this invention in which a fin isdetachably mounted on the tail portion (13) of the board body (10) atthe bottom thereof.

In FIG. 12, the fin (60) is detachably mounted on the bottom of the tailportion (13) through a fin-box (61). The fin (60) is also connected withthe board body (10) by means of a string (62) such that the fin (60)will not separate from the board body (10) even if the fin accidentallydisconnects from the fin-box (61).

FIG. 13 illustrates in more detail the connection between the fin (60)and the fin-box (61), in which the fin-box (61) includes a rectangularframe (63) having top and bottom openings and four sidewalls. Thesesidewalls define a slot (63a) which decreases in depth toward the frontend of the board body (10). The fin-box (61) is seated in a groove (70)in the tail portion (13) with the groove (70) increasing in depth as therear extremity of the tail portion (13) is approached. The groove (70)and fin-box (61) combine to increase the distance from the bottom (plate64) of the fin-box (61) to the plane of the bottom of the board as therear extremity of the tail portion is reached. The top opening iscovered by a plate (64) made of any suitable magnetic material thebottom of which plate includes a plurality of teeth (65) defined by aplurality of grooves. Each of the grooves has a depth of 2 mm and awidth of 5 mm, for example. It is thus to be understood that the fin-box(61) is embedded underneath the tail portion (13) with the fin-boxopening downwardly. The upper portion (66) of the fin (60) has such athickness that the fin will slide within the slot (63a) of the fin-box(61). The upper portion (66) also includes a plurality of teeth formedat the top edge thereof adapted to engage with the teeth (65) on themetal plate (64). Within the upper portion (66) of the fin (60) thereare embedded permanent magnets (68) for holding the fin to the metalplate (64) under magnetic attraction.

If an excessive force is exerted on the fin (60) due to any obstructionupon sliding, the fin (60) would be forced within the slot (63a) in adirection as shown by an arrow in FIG. 13, despite the magneticattraction of the permanent magnets (68) and the engagement of the teeth(65), (67). It is thus apparent that the projection of the fin (60) fromthe fin-box (61) will be decreased as the depth of the slot (63a)increases toward the rearward end thereof. Therefore, the fin (60)generally can be released from the obstruction. Notwithstanding, if thefin is not released from the obstructions, it would be forced to therearward end of the slot (63a) so that the fin (60) would ride on theslope (63b) formed in the rearward end of the slot (63a) and disengagetherefrom. The string (62) permits the disengaged fin to stay connectedto the board body (10). In such an arrangement, the board body (10) willnot be damaged by any obstruction below the snow. When the fin (60) ispositioned at or adjacent to the forward portion of the fin-box, theboard can be operated by the user with a smaller radii of turn. Such aposition of the fin is particularly useful for sliding on a steep slopewith deep snow or a slope with sticky snow. When the fin is positionedat or adjacent to the rearward portion of the fin-box, the user canenjoy high-speed slidings on the snow. This is particularly useful forsliding on a slope with frozen snow. If the fin is not wanted, it can beremoved from the board body by disconnecting the string.

While some preferred embodiments of the invention have been described inconnection with the accompanying drawings, many changes may beaccomplished without departing from the true scope of the invention.

I claim:
 1. Board for sliding on snow, comprising a board body whichincludes nose, intermediate and tail portions, each of said nose andtail portions having such a thickness that it will not be deformed bythe weight of a user placed thereon, said intermediate portion havingsuch a thickness that it will be elastically bent by the user's weight,said board body being shaped into an inverted arch bend; a side platemounted on each of the side edges of said board body to extendlongitudinally thereof; and step-decks for the user's stance which arelocated on the respective connections between said nose and intermediateportions and between said intermediate and tail portions, saidstep-decks being inclined downwardly toward said intermediate portion;said tail portion having at least one pin tail configuration:characterized in that said pin tail includes a fin-box embedded thereinat the bottom of said pin tail, said fin-box including a fin which isdetachably mounted therewithin such that the fin will be released when aforce is applied thereto that is stronger than a predetermined level. 2.Board for sliding on snow, comprising a board body which includes nose,intermediate and tail portions, each of said nose and tail portionshaving such a thickness that it will not be deformed by the weight of auser placed thereon, said intermediate portion having such a thicknessthat it will be elastically bent by the user's weight, said board bodybeing shaped into an inverted arch bend; a side plate mounted on each ofthe side edges of said board body to extend longitudinally thereof; andstep-decks for the user's stance which are located on the respectiveconnections between said nose and intermediate portions and between saidintermediate and tail portions, said step-decks being inclineddownwardly toward said intermediate portion: characterized in that saidtail portion includes a fin-box including a fin which is detachablymounted therewithin such that the fin will be released when a force isapplied thereto stronger than a predetermined level, said fin protrudingless from said fin-box as said fin is moved rearwardly within saidfin-box.
 3. Board for sliding on snow, comprising a board body whichincludes nose, intermediate and tail portions, each of said nose andtail portions having such a thickness that it will not be deformed bythe weight of a user placed thereon, said intermediate portion havingsuch a thickness that it will be elastically bent by the user's weight,said board body being shaped into an inverted arch bend; a side platemounted on each of the side edges of said board body to extendlongitudinally thereof; and step-decks for the user's stance which arelocated on the respective connections between said nose and intermediateportions and between said intermediate and tail portions, saidstep-decks being inclined downwardly toward said intermediate portion:characterized in that said tail portion includes a fin-box embeddedtherein at the bottom of said tail portion, said fin-box including a finwhich is detachably mounted therewithin such that the fin will bereleased when a force is applied thereto that is stronger than apredetermined level, and in that said board further includes means formounting said fin within said fin-box, said mounting means including aplurality of teeth formed in said fin-box along the length thereof, aplurality of corresponding teeth formed in said fin at the surfacethereof which is adapted to engage with said teeth in said fin-box, andpermanent magnet means embedded in said fin for attaching said fin tosaid fin-box.
 4. Board for sliding on snow, comprising a board bodywhich includes nose, intermediate and tail portions, each of said noseand tail portions having such a thickness that it will not be deformedby the weight of a user placed thereon, said intermediate portion havingsuch a thickness that it will be elastically bent by the user's weight,said board body being shaped into an inverted arch bend; a side platemounted on each of the side edges of said board body to extendlongitudinally thereof; and step-decks for the user's stance which arelocated on the respective connections between said nose and intermediateportions and between said intermediate and tail portions, saidstep-decks being inclined downwardly toward said intermediate portion;said tail portion being shaped into a double-pin tail configuration:characterized in that each of said step-decks include binding meansmounted slantwise thereon, said binding means comprising a shoe-holdingplate having slots formed therein, a rubber tape passing through saidslots and having the opposite ends thereof anchored to the correspondingstep-deck, and a sleeve-like cloth covering said rubber tape along thelength thereof, said sleeve-like cloth having a length larger than thatof said rubber tape.
 5. Board for sliding on snow, comprising a boardbody which includes nose, intermediate and tail portions, each of saidnose and tail portions having such a thickness that it will not bedeformed by the weight of a user placed thereon, said intermediateportion having such a thickness that it will be elastically bent by theuser's weight, said board body being shaped into an inverted arch bend;a side plate mounted on each of the side edges of said board body toextend longitudinally thereof; and step-decks for the user's stancewhich are located on the respective connections between said nose andintermediate portions and said intermediate and tail portions, saidstep-decks being inclined downwardly toward said intermediate portion;said tail portion being shaped into a double-pin tail configuration;characterized in that each pin-tail defining said double-pin tailconfiguration is of a tapered trigonal pyramid configuration.
 6. Boardfor sliding on snow, comprising a board body which includes nose,intermediate and tail portions, each of said nose and tail portionshaving such a thickness that it will not be deformed by the weight of auser placed thereon, said intermediate portion having such a thicknessthat it will be elastically bent by the user's weight, said board bodybeing shaped into an inverted arch bend; a side plate mounted on each ofthe side edges of said board body to extend longitudinally along saidnose portion, said intermediate portion and a part of said tail portion,each of said side plates being inclined upwardly from the correspondingside edge of the top surface of said board body; step-decks for theuser's stance which are located on the respective connections betweensaid nose and intermediate portions and between said intermediate andtail portions, said step-decks being inclined downwardly toward saidintermediate portion; and said tail portion being shaped into adouble-pin tail configuration which includes pin-tails of a taperedtrigonal pyramid configuration.